Monthly Archives: May 2015

Pros:
1. Good for a kid who’s a train lover. They not only are taking a train trip, but also get to tour the train and learn about the various parts/people on a train.
2. Age appropriate, family friend story line.

Cons:
1. As a kid, I liked the Berenstain bears, but now, as a parent and adult, I feel as though there are many better illustrated options out there. They’re illustrated the same way they always have been, but I can tell that my kids aren’t as drawn in by these drawings compared to other books produced under the I Can Read series.
2. The reading level feels a little off to me. It’s definitely not a “My First” level, but it’s borderline Level 2? And some of the words introduced aren’t common words (like “caboose” which is great for this book, probably not going to be useful outside of this book).

Though I’m not disappointed to have bought this book, I think there are definitely better “I Can Read Level 1″ books out there…

Pros:
1. Great pictures, very vivid and will keep even a younger kid’s attention.
2. Nice, basic information on the seed –> plant process with some good vocabulary (germination, pollination)

Cons:
1. Not sure about the appropriate age group here. As a level 1 book, on the one hand, MOST of the words are super basic (seed, plant, etc), but on the other, the more complicated words are like a few levels up (germination, pollination.
2. Similarly, some of the interesting/fun facts are going to be ones that are too basic for a kid who’s already in elementary school, and a bit too left field for a younger kid.

Ultimately, we’re glad we have it in our collection. It’s bright, vivid and educational. The problem is that the target age group is a little hard to pinpoint, and the reading level is not completely level-1-ish (nor is the information)

Pros:
1. If your kid likes Star Wars, your kid will probably like this book.
2. If you kid likes Han Solo, they’re probably love this book.
3. It’s got all the major things you would expect form a Star Wars book (mentions of Chewie, Princess Leia, etc)

Cons:
1. It’s not really helpful in terms of helping your kid learn to read (every like fourth word is proper noun that is useful only in the Star Wars universe).
2. If your kid already likes Star Wars, they’re not really going to learn anything new from this book.

If your kid doesn’t really like to read, but loves Star Wars, this is the book for you. Otherwise, there are other books that are better Star Wars books, as well as books that are better learning to read books. This is for the Star Wars kid who doesn’t otherwise want to read…